Statewide Stories of the Day

More school districts than usual go to ballot (Dispatch)

Three dozen school districts in Ohio are asking voters for more money on the Aug. 7 ballot, the most levies in a special election in seven years. Not since 2005, when 51 tax issues for schools appeared on the ballot, have there been more. August ballots typically have fewer school levies than general and primary elections. In the past decade, August ballots have averaged 35 school levies, about a third of them approved. The high was 105 levies in 2005; the low was 18 in 2009. In central Ohio, Groveport Madison, Buckeye Valley and North Fork Local are on next month’s ballot. Read more...

State starts inquiry into Toledo Public Schools records (Blade)

The Ohio Department of Education has started an investigation into whether Toledo Public Schools violated state law when the district manipulated some students' attendance data to improve state report-card scores, a probe that could result in serious sanctions against educators who were involved. Some might even lose their jobs. The investigation was ordered after TPS Superintendent Jerome Pecko admitted to The Blade last week that schools retroactively withdrew and re-enrolled chronically absent students to erase their poor attendance records. Read more...

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, despite his vow against tax hikes, will back the Cleveland schools' proposed 15-mill levy (Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS – Gov. John Kasich, who has vowed to revolt against anything resembling a tax hike and signed an anti-tax pledge with a powerful Washington conservative group, is making an exception and backing the proposed 15-mill Cleveland school levy. "The schools are doing it the right way because they're fixing their problems first, and then asking for more resources. If the governor lived in Cleveland he would vote for it and the governor will give the mayor whatever help he needs," Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said in a statement. Read more...

Districts shift start dates for local schools (Dayton Daily News)

School is starting more than a week earlier than usual at two of the Dayton area’s largest public districts this year, and about a week and a half later than it had been at another district. “In May, our kids take a lot of tests — AP (Advanced Placement), SAT, International Baccalaureate, college placement and, of course, the state tests,” said Jim Schoenlein, Kettering City Schools superintendent. “They will now get a couple more weeks of preparation as compared to some others.” Read more...

Local Issues

Westerville teachers union weighing strike (Dispatch)

The teachers union in Westerville might consider striking if labor negotiations don’t improve with the school board, according to emails sent by union leaders and obtained by The Dispatch. Leaders of the Westerville Education Association, the union that represents about 1,000 teachers in the district, have not returned emails or calls over the past week. But in a half-dozen emails in recent weeks, the union’s leaders discouraged teachers from preparing classrooms early for the upcoming school year or volunteering at certain school events. Read more...

CPS teachers excited about new curriculum (Enquirer)

CORRYVILLE — New national curriculum standards being piloted at Cincinnati Public Schools this fall will better prepare kids and “bring teaching back to life.” That was how Shroder High School teacher Denise Pfeiffer described it as she joined six other CPS teachers Monday in a presentation to the school board. The teachers were among 46 employees of the region’s largest district who attended a week-long conference last week on the new Common Core Standards. Read more...

Chillicothe City Schools' computer network to get $140,000 upgrade (Chillicothe Gazette)

CHILLICOTHE - The Chillicothe City Schools' aging computer network, which has been prone to crashes in recent years, will receive a $140,000 upgrade this summer, the board of education decided Monday. The upgrade, which should be complete by September, mainly will focus on the high school, middle school and Mount Logan and Tiffin elementary schools. Allen and Worthington elementary schools received upgrades several years ago. Read more...

Riverdale finances 'not good at all' (Courier)

MOUNT BLANCHARD - Riverdale School finished the fiscal year with a balance of more than $300,000, but district Treasurer Jodie Ribley said the figure is well below where it should be. "Some of the other county schools have carryovers of $1.3 million right now, we only have $346,000," Ribley told Riverdale school board on Monday. "That's barely enough to cover payroll and no other expenses throughout the month." The district's payroll is about $200,000, she said, and "our expenses each month run between $400,000 and $600,000. Read more...

Editorial

Grading Ohio school principals is a good idea (Plain Dealer)

As school districts strive to improve education, it makes sense that Ohio insist that principals be held accountable for student achievement along with teachers. According to Ohio's budget bill, Ohio school districts must create a system for evaluating principals and teachers by 2013. Both principals and teachers are to be graded on similar terms -- half on student achievement and the other half on observations and other measures. And those grades will matter. Schools can base hiring, retention and pay raises on whether principals are rated as accomplished. Read more...

Don't be quick to predict outcome of Cleveland's latest school tax levy campaign (Plain Dealer)

It's tempting to predict the failure of the Cleveland School District's recently announced campaign to raise school taxes by about 50 percent. The local economy is still in the dumps. Many parents remain disengaged. And school officials are making the same tired promises as their many predecessors. History, however, suggests a knee-jerk forecast could make me look foolish. The Cleveland district's last successful tax request was in 1996 and won approval after early predictions that city voters would reject it. Read more...